


What are we doing?

by markostanzegruppe



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Age Difference, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Rare Pairings, Romance, Slow Burn, maybe who knows, she's 18 so it's not that weird okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27882097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markostanzegruppe/pseuds/markostanzegruppe
Summary: "She didn’t know when her infatuation with the coach started. Of course she noticed how attractive he was ever since he first walked in the Karasuno High volleyball court, but it wasn’t until a couple of months had passed that Kiyoko realized how often she would catch herself looking his way, trying to stay as close to him as socially acceptable while sitting in the bench during the games".In which Kiyoko develops a crush on coach Ukai and slowly but surely it seems that he might develop something for her too.
Relationships: Shimizu Kiyoko/Ukai Keishin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	What are we doing?

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so first things first I'm highly aware that this is a very rare and somewhat controversial pairing in Haikyuu. I made the decision to make Kiyoko 18 but if you're uncomfortable with any sort of age gap then this fic may not be the best choice for you. Secondly, this is my first fan fiction ever! I literally never even considered writing before, it's not even something I generally do, but ever since I saw a random art online of these two I've been low-key shipping them. I've only ever found two other fics about it so I thought I might as well just try my hand at it. Lastly, english is not my first language, so there might be some errors and you're free to point them out and I'll correct them! I hope you enjoy this!

She didn’t know when her infatuation with the coach started. Of course she noticed how attractive he was ever since he first walked in the Karasuno High volleyball court, but it wasn’t until a couple of months had passed that Kiyoko realized how often she would catch herself looking his way, trying to stay as close to him as socially acceptable while sitting in the bench during the games.

She was mildly aware of what the boys in her school thought of her looks, although she chalked most of it off to boyish child play. As much as she secretly found amusing Tanaka and Noya’s over-protectiveness over her, Keishin Ukai never once seemed to notice her physical attributes. He always talked to her as her equal, genuinely listening to what she had to say - something she deeply appreciated. As a matter of fact, that’s how she realized that she was developing a crush: although she did appreciate the way he treated her, she found herself mildly disappointed that he never seemed to have considered her more than the manager to the club, just a sort of coworker as opposed to an actual woman.

Of course she was aware of the age difference, it was inevitable. Although she was 18, the fact that she was still in high school most certainly was a drawback. Kiyoko understood that her crush on the coach wasn’t common, but it was also not unheard of - attraction to older men was a very common occurrence. Still, it’s not like there was much she could do about it, she thought.

It was during the spring qualifiers that her resolution started to grow, that a voice that at first was barely audible and mostly in the back on her head started to get loud - really loud. Kiyoko will never forget the moment the boys won Shiratorizawa. Although she always believed in their potential, always knew that her boys would achieve great things, there was something about that moment that seemed almost otherworldly. In that moment, and in that moment alone, everything seemed possible. She was still riding the high of watching them win when, during their bus ride home, she caught herself looking at coach Ukai. She was musing, as always: What was he thinking? What was he like when he wasn’t on coach mode? How did he flirt? What would he feel like?

That’s when she realized what a coward she was. Her boys, and she indeed thought of them as her boys, wanted something so bad that they would go through hell and back to get it. She on the other hand constantly hid herself in her shy demeanor, pretended like nothing could faze her and never went after what she wanted. She was socially awkward and had a hard time talking to people, which is why her only friendships consisted of the third years from the team and Yachi-san. But maybe that was no way of living. Maybe, just maybe, she should take a page out of the Karasuno Volleyball Team and go after what she wanted. And from that moment on, Shimizu Kiyoko decided she would do just that - she would go after Ukai Keishin.

It took her a while to decide what exactly that would entail though. She couldn’t simply ask him out upfront, that would probably freak him out. Plus, she had no idea wether or not he would actually be interested in her.

 _Hmm… I have to test the waters first_.

As soon as the first bracket of the national championship was announced, she and Hitoka had already decided to do what they did for the Karasuno match against Shiratorizawa. They researched every information available on the Tsubakihara players, made charts and calculated the statistics based on the games they could find and watch. That was probably one of her favorite duties as a manager, even if not an official one. Nobody expected that from them, but it filled her heart with joy how she could help their team in a tangible way, positively affecting the way they played, aiding them in their victory.

* * *

That night the boys had just finished a particularly intense training session and Ukai was giving his usual end-of-training speech:

“So, we still have about a month before the Nationals, and I know how excited you guys are about it, which is why I decided to push you guys to the limit today. Expect this to be the norm from now on.” He gave a brief pause before he continued: “I want you guys to rest now. I know how tempting it is to stay and train a bit more” he said, looking specifically at Hinata and Kageyama “but there is no point in pushing yourselves further, especially because tomorrow there will be more. You guys go home and get some sleep, I’ll clean and lock up for today”. With that, the team shouted a resounding “Hai!” and prepared themselves to leave. Kiyoko saw this as an opportunity to talk to the coach about her research with Hitoka and simply murmured “I’ll help you” as she began to pick up some of the scattered volley balls. Hitoka promptly apologized for not being able to stay and help her friend, having to be home for dinner with her mother, which Kiyoko promptly responded that it was okay, as she was going to take this opportunity to show their hard work to Ukai-sensei. A few minutes later and the last of the boys left (Kageyama and Hinata, already planning to secretly train some more on their way home), leaving Ukai and Kiyoko alone at last.

“Sometimes I think those two don’t listen to a word I say” said Ukai with a sigh, having both heard the first years plan.

“Their hearing is highly selective, but I do think you get through when it matters” offered Kiyoko. 

Although he didn’t show it, Ukai was mildly surprised at her answer. Not that he thought she would simply ignore him, but it was indeed rare for Kiyoko to talk more than strictly necessary. He saw this as a sign that he himself was getting better at communicating with the team, as even the shyest of them was able to answer him without looking down, as she often did.

They continued the rest of the clean up in a comfortable silence, but as they were finishing Kiyoko decided to speak up: “So, Ukai-sensei… I was wondering if I could walk with you to your store”. He looked at here mildly confused, simply because she had never asked to do so before. Then again, he realized they had never been the last two to leave, so he didn’t think much of it. “Of course”, he responded. She continued: “I had some notes that I wanted to go through with you, and your store happens to be on my way home, so I just thought we could talk during our walk”.

“Notes?” Ukai questioned as he finished locking up the gym. It was really cold outside, being winter and all, and they were both layered up as they walked toward the street.

Kiyoko clarified: “Well, you know, since it was announced that our first match would be with Tsubakihara, Yachi and I decided to do some research on their game plays” she said this as she picked up from her bag a thick bundle of neatly organized papers, each containing carefully written notes and colorful graphs and diagrams. Ukai was stunned:

“Uh… I… Shimizu…” He was stammering as he flipped trough the papers. “This is incredible! I’m still working my way through the matches, you were really fast… Thank you so much, I don’t think you know how much your hard work means to us”. He carefully put the papers in his bag so as to not crumple them. He had no words. Keishin was aware of how much the managers cared about the team of course, but this must have taken them several days. And to have done it so fast, they must’ve spent several sleepless nights, just watching volleyball matches over and over again while trying not to miss a single movement.

Kiyoko looked away so as Ukai could not see her blushing. “Well, as managers there is not much we can do in the court… This was our way of being there for the boys”.

In a sense, Keishin did understand her. “I guess I know what you mean. As a coach I try to prepare them as much as I possibly can, but even though I can ask for a time-out during the matches, once they’re on the court they’re alone. We can’t really be there for them physically, we’re stuck on the bench watching”.

Kiyoko was surprised at his small confession. She never realized he could feel that same powerlessness she felt. Of course she noticed his frustration during though parts of the games, but it never really crossed her mind that he too could see himself as a sort of outsider. It was relieving, in a way. All she could do was look him in the eyes and offer a genuine smile.

They continued to walk silently as snow gently began to fall. Ukai was trying hard to fight his urge to light a cigarette so as to not appear rude, but it was too cold and he had reached his limit. “Shimizu, do you mind if I light a cigarette?”

Of course she didn’t mind, and she said just that, but she was stunned that he actually asked her. Never before had she seen him ask for permission to smoke, usually simply lighting a cigarette whenever he felt like it. She felt a bit proud that he respected her this much, so she decide to throw him a bone:

“You know… I don’t think I ever told this to anyone, but I find the smell a bit… - she struggled to find the right word - soothing?”. She said that last word almost like a question, hoping he would understand what exactly she meant. The truth is she was never bothered with the smell of cigarettes as some people are, but the fact that Ukai was almost always smoking made her eventually take a liking to it. She never really felt the need to actually smoke though.

“Hmmmm... I think I get it. Like some people who really like the smell of gasoline, I guess. I hope you don’t start smoking thought, it’s really bad for you”.

She felt stupid for blushing yet again, and this time for something so trivial, but she really was enjoying this side of him she was finally getting to know. “Don’t worry, I won’t”, she said with a small laugh, “just know you don’t have to worry about it near me”. He smirked: “Duly noted”.

Ukai was feeling rather proud of himself. Besides the younger manager, he had never seen Kiyoko talk to anyone so naturally, so he decided to keep the conversation going: “So… I’ve been meaning to ask you this but, I was wondering why exactly you joined the club? It’s just that you seem to know a lot about volleyball, but as far as I know it you don’t seem to play it, so I guess I was just curious… Why become the manager for the boy’s club you know?” He was afraid his question sounded condescending, and he really didn’t mean it to be so. Most of all he was just curious. The young girl seemed to know an awful lot about the sport, and yeah maybe she learned everything throughout the years managing the team, but he figured if she liked it so much, which she definitely seemed to, why not join the girl’s club? Why not actually play it?

Kiyoko, however, didn’t for a second find his question to be condescending, fully understanding where his curiosity came from. This was something she never really discussed with anyone, not necessarily out of shame but just because nobody had really questioned her about it.

“Well, to be honest, I really didn’t know anything about volleyball before joining Karasuno. I used to be on my school’s track and field team… hurdling to be exact. I had an injury, so I stopped… but I wanted to be a part of a team when I joined Karasuno, and I guess the opportunity presented itself so…” She spoke in small sentences, making a brief pause between them in order to express in as few words as possible what had happened. It wasn’t painful to talk about it per se, but Kiyoko was of the conviction that what’s in the past is in the past, and she really didn’t enjoy remembering her so called glory days. Plus, there was never an ounce of regret. Sure, she missed the sport, but if it wasn’t for that injury she would never had made the decisions she made to end up exactly where she is now.

Ukai, on the other hand, felt really bad for her. As he watched her talk about it, he noticed she didn’t seem to be particularly troubled by what had happened to her, but he still sympathized with her nonetheless. Without knowing exactly what to say, he tried to be as hopeful as possible: “I’m sorry this happened to you. I guess we all know that’s a possibility when joining a sport, uh? Still, I’m glad you’re here with us now”.

Little did he know that was exactly how she felt like.

As they approached the store, Keishin suddenly realized that the whole reason she had asked to join him was to talk about her notes:

“I guess we didn’t even get to discuss your research, hun?”

“Oh, right… I guess we could discuss it another day”.

“Well, if you’re free before practice tomorrow I’ll be here at the store, you could come by then”.

With that, Ukai put out his finished cigarette and they exchanged a smile and a quick wave goodbye, with Kiyoko continuing her walk home. As she walked away and he entered the store, both felt the strange feeling of not wanting to part just yet.

**Author's Note:**

> I plan on continuing this fic, so please let me know in the comments any critique you may have or just general suggestions! I already started the second chapter so it should be out soon. I plan on going a little more in depth into each character's inner dialog, so this is likely going to be a bit of a slow burn. I mean that in the sense that I want them to really get to know each other before anything actually happens. 
> 
> Also, I'm new to anime and just Japanese culture in general so I'm low-key a little bit lost on the honorific titles (-chan, -san, etc). If I made any mistakes on that please please just comment and I'll fix it. I also wasn't sure how a coach would address a student so I just had him call her Shimizu but again, if that's not accurate, let me know and I'll correct it. That's it! Thank you for reading this far!


End file.
